Amid tensions with Kenya’s ex-deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, the former leader of the outlawed Mungiki sect and his supporters disrupted a prayer gathering in central Kenya that included Gachagua’s wife. Following the incident, social media posts shared an image claiming the former sect leader, Maina Njenga, had been attacked. This is misleading: the image is from 2014 when Njenga was injured in a gun attack.
“BREAKING NEWS: Mungiki leader Maina Njenga beaten up badly by an angry crowd saying that they were not fully paid after disrupting Pastor Dorcas Rigathi Nyeri prayer event last weekend,” reads an X post shared on January 24, 2025.
Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on January 28, 2025
The image shows an injured man with blood-stained clothes seated on a wheelchair.
The claim was also shared here and here on Facebook.
Mungiki sect
The Mungiki is a political-religious group established in Kenya in the late 1980s. Its adherents are primarily from the Kikuyu tribe, the country’s most populous ethnic group. Njenga was one of the group’s founders (archived here).
In the local language, the word Mungiki means “multitude” or “a united people”.
At first, the group’s primary focus was to protect land rights and interests of the Kikuyu community. However, it morphed into a violent movement linked to numerous criminal activities including murder and extortion and was subsequently outlawed by Kenyan authorities in 2002 (archived here).
In 2009, Njenga converted to Christianity along with some members of the sect, following his acquittal on murder charges (archived here and here). He had been accused of orchestrating the massacre of 29 people in the central Kenyan town of Nyeri.
Gachagua-Njenga rivalry
Njenga and Gachagua are both from the Mount Kenya region, where they have been vying for political control (archived here).
On January 18, 2025, Njenga and a group of his supporters disrupted a prayer meeting in Nyeri county, leading to the evacuation of Gachagua’s spouse, Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, who was one of the event’s organisers (archived here).
Gachagua, who was impeached in October 2024 after following out with President William Ruto, accused the government of sending the ex-Mungiki leader to cause chaos at the event (archived here and here).
Njenga had urged people in the Mount Kenya region to back Ruto at the start of the year, refuting claims that the area had turned against the government after Gachagua was removed from office (archived here).
In response, Gachagua called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the Mungiki sect’s past crimes, claiming that the government was making a concerted effort to revive the outlawed sect to tame his influence in the region (archived here).
However, the image shared online does not show Njenga being recently attacked.
Old image
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on the image and found it in a news report from more than 10 years ago.
A cropped version of the image was published in an article by Kenyan media outlet, The Standard in May 2014 (archived here).
According to the report, Njenga’s car had been shot at in Ol Kalou, a town along Nairobi-Nyahururu Highway. He blamed this attack on the police. In response, authorities denied involvement and attributed the shooting incident to infighting within the Mungiki sect.
Screenshot of article published by The Standard, taken on January 28, 2025
A full version of the image also circulated on social media and blogs at the time (archived here and here).
Also in May 2014, local broadcaster Citizen TV published footage of Njenga’s bullet-riddled vehicle and an interview with him when he was being treated at the Nyahururu hospital (archived here).
In the video, Njenga was wearing the same clothes seen on in the image shared on X.
During a TikTok live published on January 26, 2025, Njenga dismissed claims of the purported recent attack as propaganda (archived here).
Speaking in the Kikuyu language, Njenga said: “Do I look like I have an injury anywhere? Why are they spreading propaganda? Should I stand? Tell them to drop the propaganda. Ignore those pictures from the 2014 accident. We are standing strong and will not be shaken.”
As he spoke, Njenga stood up and jogged on the spot to show that he was not injured.
